Super Mario – Wario Bust

Wario (ワリオ Wario?, [w͍a.ɽi.o]) (English /ˈwɑːrioʊ/) is a character in Nintendo’s Mario series who was originally designed as an archrival of Mario. He first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss. His name is a portmanteau of Mario’s name and the Japanese word warui (悪い), meaning “bad”[citation needed]. Wario was first designed by Hiroji Kiyotake, and is voiced by Charles Martinet, who also voices many other characters in the series.

Since his debut, Wario has become the protagonist and antihero of the Wario Land and WarioWare series, spanning handheld and console markets. In addition to appearances in spin-offs in the Mario series, he appears in cameos for Kirby Super Star Ultra, Densetsu no Stafy 3 and Pilotwings 64. He has also been featured in other media such as the Super Mario Adventures graphic novel. The character has received a largely positive critical reception and has emerged as a well-established mascot for Nintendo.

A possible inspiration for Wario first appeared in the 1985 game Wrecking Crew in the character of Spike, a construction foreman. Although he bears a slight resemblance to Spike, Wario did not debut until 1992. The first named appearance of the character occurred in the game Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. He was designed by game artist Hiroji Kiyotake. Wario’s design arose from Super Mario Land’s design team’s distaste of making a game based around someone else’s character. The creation of Wario allowed them a character of their own to “symbolize their situation”.

Wario is portrayed as a caricature of Mario; he has a large head and chin, huge, muscular arms, a wide and short body, short legs, a large, pointier, zig-zagging moustache, and a bellicose cackle. He also wears a plumber outfit with a yellow and purple color scheme. The name “Wario” is a portmanteau of “Mario” with the Japanese adjective warui (悪い?) meaning “bad”; hence, a “bad Mario” (further symbolized by the “W” on his hat, an upside down “M”). Official Nintendo lore states that Wario was a childhood rival to Mario and Luigi who became jealous of their success. Voice actor Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario since 1995, is also the voice for Wario. During the audition for the part, Martinet was told to speak in a mean and gruff-sounding tone. He described voicing Wario as a looser task than voicing Mario, since Mario’s speaking manner and personality are more free-flowing, rising from the ground and floating into the air, while one of Wario’s cornerstones is jealousy. Starting with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Wario experiences rejuvenating effects from garlic in a similar manner as Mario is powered up by mushrooms. Wario often uses bombs, as seen in Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Wario Blast and Mario Kart: Double Dash!!. The WarioWare series prominently uses bombs as a visual motif to represent the time limit.